


Volare

by mariposaroja



Series: Football AUs [1]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, I don't know, M/M, No angst here, One Shot, Thomas and Mats are meddlers, but all is well in the end, mario is an architect, pilot AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:00:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6864889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariposaroja/pseuds/mariposaroja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Flying has long lost its appeal for someone who travels as much as Mario Götze does. But, sometimes, it's not so bad... </p><p>Or in which Thomas and Mats woo Mario on Marco's behalf</p>
            </blockquote>





	Volare

**Author's Note:**

> _Volare, oh_   
>  _Cantare, oh oh oh oh_   
>  _Nel blu dipinto di blu_   
>  _felice di stare lassù._

Settling into the window seat, Mario shifted to find optimum comfort (which never meant a lot in economy) right after buckling his seatbelt. Yet another cross country flight. When he was a little boy, flying had been one of his favourite things- jetting off to some beautiful part of Europe for summer holidays with his family- but when it became a routine part of his job, the magic and excitement he felt when up in the air faded into what only be described as monotony.

He slipped off his jacket, folding it haphazardly before tucking it under his seat in case he got cold during the flight, which, he’d learned fairly quickly, was highly probable. Especially when the person beside him insisted on having the air on full blast. Following the same routine as always, Mario inserted the buds of his headphones into his ear, letting out a weary sigh when he unlocked his phone and remembered that he’d forgotten to update his library. That was a weekly requirement for him, growing quickly tired of hearing the same songs over and over again on his travels. But it would have to do for this flight.

Letting his head fall back against the seat, he closed his eyes. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen the safety demonstration enough times to actually do it himself at this stage. One exit to the rear, two over the wings and one at the front. In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure pull on the mask to start the air flow…

He knew the drill.

So Mario just allowed himself to drift, not really falling asleep but in limbo, hearing the music in his ears but so relaxed that he might as well have been unconscious. Seeing as he was out of touch phone wise, he might as well use the time to get the relaxation that was so hard to come by and desperately needed in.

That was until he suddenly felt a hand on his arm, and he would have jumped a foot into the air out of shock were it not for the fact that his seatbelt was still fastened despite the fact that they were cruising at however many thousand feet.

Eyes now wide open, heart pounding in his chest, Mario pulled his headphones out when he saw his two neighbours and a steward looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry?”

The flight attendant, a sandy haired guy in his mid-twenties that Mario recognised from his many flights with this particular airline, chuckled. “Here you go.”

A little crease formed between his brows as Mario eyed the small clear plastic cup containing what appeared to be his favourite bourbon that was extended to him. “I didn’t order anything…”

“I know,” the flight attendant nodded, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Courtesy of the captain.”

 _The…_ Too perplexed to enquire as to why the captain was sending him drinks, he took the cup, using his free hand to pull down the tray and set it on it. “Uh, thanks?”

“Enjoy.”

 _Did… did he just wink at me?_ Okay, it might have been a failed wink but the intent was there nonetheless. Still unable to believe that that had just happened, Mario caught his neighbours’ eyes and found that they were still watching him in amusement. Blush creeping across his cheeks as he tried to come up with an explanation, he first needed to try make some sense of it himself. “Uh, I travel a lot with this airline for my job…”

That answer seemed to satisfy the two women, who went back to the conversation they had probably been having before the whole drink incident while Mario sat there, thoroughly confused and staring at the amber liquid in front of him.

For a moment he wondered if this was a prank and it was poisoned or had laxatives in it or something but soon concluded that that was not the case. And, if it were, then he would just sue the airline for obscene amounts of money. So Mario picked up the cup once again and pressed it to his lips, humming in satisfaction as the smooth liquor caressed his taste buds.

He may not have been sure who the captain was what but one thing he knew for sure was they were what the hip people would call ‘the real MVP’.

The drink was very nice indeed and Mario’s interest was piqued to a sufficiently high degree to mean that he could not just put back in his headphones and go back to the other world that he had been previously inhabiting before being disturbed. If anyone else wanted to disturb him with free alcohol then he most certainly would not object.

The minutes went on and on and Mario found himself on edge, sitting up just a little bit straighter every time that steward passed by just in case but, unfortunately, everything seemed maddeningly normal.

Until…

He had just been looking out the window, straining to see the land below though the wispy clouds when someone called him. “Mr Götze?”

Turning so quickly his neck cracked, Mario’s eyes fell on a different flight attendant this time except… Nope, that was no flight attendant. Not if the snazzy black uniform and pin on his blazer was anything to go by. This guy was taller than the last, with black hair and dark eyes and facial hair that probably would have looked stupid on anyone else but somehow really worked for him.

“Yes?” Mario finally managed to get out, trying to keep his eyes from bugging out of his head at the thought that the _captain_ might be coming to talk to him after sending him a drink. It was all deeply confusing.

Lips tugging upwards to expose dazzlingly white teeth, the man crouched down just a little bit, leaning on the back of the aisle seat with one hand and extending the other towards the architect. “Mats Hummels. I’m the co-pilot. Mario, right?”

 _Are you hitting on me?_ “Uh, yeah.”

“You ever been inside the cockpit of an aeroplane, Mario?”

“Can safely say I haven’t…”

The pilot’s grin widened. “Great, I just wanted to ask if maybe you’d like to come in and have a look around before we have to begin our descent.”

Mario wasn’t exactly sure what was going on but he had a fair idea- sending him drinks _and_ inviting him into the cockpit. He just hoped that wasn’t a euphemism. Realising that he had no choice, but well past intrigued all the same, the blond gave him a smile and nodded, feeling the weight of the stares of the two women beside him upon him. “I’d love to.”

“Great! Follow me then.”

Unbuckling his belt, Mario tugged the headphones out of the jack and threw them back onto the seat as he shuffled sideways past his neighbours and out into the aisle, unable to help but notice that everyone in their general vicinity was watching the scene curiously. Mats gave a little gesture for him to follow as he began to make his way towards the very front of the plane which Mario did, unsure of whether or not he should be relieved that it was only a couple of rows away.

They passed the steward from before on the way, the architect feeling just a little bit bashful when he saw the knowing look the two briefly exchanged. When they reached their destination they had to pause for a moment as the pilot had to key in a code to be granted access to the cockpit, Mario now understanding how those who worked in retail must have felt as he made a conscious effort to look anywhere but at the keypad. Only a matter of seconds had passed when a little beep sounded and Mats was able to push the door open, heading inside but holding the door open for the passenger.

Casting a glance back at Mario, Mats grinned evilly. “Hey Marco, I brought a visitor. He’s never been in a cockpit before…”

With the plane obviously on autopilot (or at least Mario _really_ hoped it was), the man in the pilot’s seat turned his head to look back at his colleague, frown firmly in place until he caught sight of the man standing next to Mats and then just looked downright mortified. “Mats, you fucker.”

Eyes widening just a little bit at that reaction, Mario wanted the ground to swallow him up. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on here but he doubted it was going to end well for him.

“It’s called being proactive,” Mats was completely unapologetic, “We’re all sick of your shit.”

Ignoring that, the pilot- Marco- turned to look at the passenger, cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “I apologise on his behalf.”

“Yeah, yeah. You going to show the guy around the controls or what?”

“Only if you go and tell Thomas that the two of you are in big trouble when we land…”

The co-pilot muttered something about ‘thanking me later’ before exiting the cockpit once again, leaving the two blonds alone. It was awkward for the shortest of moments before Marco smiled, albeit nervously, at Mario. “Sorry again about him, I bet this is all very weird.”

Mario couldn’t disagree with that description. “My frequent flyer miles must be really totting up,” he replied, casually as he could, in an attempt to cut through some of the tension.

The other man genuinely laughed at that. “Well, come have a seat and I’ll show you how things work around here.”

“Right there?”

“Yes? Where else would you sit?”

“But that’s the co-pilot’s seat.”

Chuckling, Marco raised an eyebrow. “Yes, and as you can see I’m minus a co-pilot at the moment. So I’m not seeing a problem.”

 _In that case…_ Trying not to stare too long at the pilot, who was even better looking than his partner and that was quite the feat, Mario shuffled towards the empty chair, marvelling when he finally sat down and realised just how comfy it was. For a moment he toyed with the idea of having one sent to his office, to make the long days of sitting behind a desk that bit more enjoyable. “This is insane.” He was looking out at clear sky through the large window, as opposed to the tiny ones in the cabin. There was absolutely no comparison. “Do you ever get used to seeing _this_?”

Smile widened a lit bit more, Marco shook his head. “Never. Maybe sometime in the future but I haven’t been doing it for long enough to get bored yet.”

Mario frowned. “How long _have_ you been doing this?”

“Long enough for you to not have to worry about the welfare of yourself and your fellow passengers, don’t worry,” the pilot laughed and Mario found himself laughing along too, just a little bit out of relief.

“That’s good to hear. Although I don’t see how anyone could remember what all of these controls do…”

“Is that a challenge?”

 

By the time Marco was finished talking him through the control panel, Mario was one hundred percent satisfied that the person flying the plane was completely qualified to do so. Without having to backtrack on a thing, the pilot named everything from the Primary EICAS to the EFIS, noting briefly what each and every button, down to the most insignificant of things, did. The architect was left with his jaw practically hanging open, having finally gotten a good appreciation of just how technical the job of a pilot is.

“How do you deal with the stress of having two hundred people’s lives in your hands? _Literally_ in your hands?”

Shrugging, Marco looked over at the other man. “I’m very confident in my abilities. And I have a lot of down time when I’m not flying.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is. And, in fact, I would like to show you how much down time I have if it’s at all possible.”

There it was. Granted, when he walked into the cockpit he had assumed that it would be Mats putting the moves on him, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a _little_ bit pleased with this turn of events. “I’ve got to give you kudos, this is the most impressive way of asking someone out that I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

“Well, I hadn’t actually planned on asking you out as you can probably tell from all my colleague’s sneaking around, but now that we’re both here…”

“Good point. So when have you scheduled some down time next?”

Smirk playing on his mouth, Marco contemplated that for a moment. “It just so happens that I have some scheduled tomorrow night, if you’re available?”

Given how impressive this all was, Mario was never going to say no. “Yeah, I think I can do that…”

 

Watching Mario walk out of the cockpit to go back to his seat before they began their descent, Mats and Thomas exchanged a pleased look when they saw that he looked infinitely happier than he had done going in fifteen minutes ago.

“Thank fuck.”

“I know,” Mats agreed, “It was getting pathetic. Something had to be done for everyone’s sake.”

_“Good evening, this is your captain speaking. We will shortly be making our descent into Munich so please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. If you look out the window, you can see that it’s a beautiful night…”_

Rolling his eyes, the co-pilot shifted from where he had been leaning against the small countertop by the bathroom at the rear of the plane, preparing to head back and do his First Officer-ly duties. “I’m so glad he’s with Toni on Wednesday…”


End file.
